Declaring war on Iraq could give the United States a convenient opportunity to test their new nuclear weapons, said the chairperson of the Malaysian Medical Association of Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Dr R S McCoy at a forum yesterday.

Speaking at the forum titled 'Iraq: Is War the Answer?' organised by the Movement for a Just World (Just), McCoy likened the possibility of a nuclear attack on Iraq to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended World War Two.

He said the bombing of the two Japanese cities were a convenient opportunity for the US to test its atomic capabilities, although it was unnecessary since the Allied Forces were already winning the war in the Pacific.

McCoy said it was known that the US has been researching and developing a new kind of nuclear capability, low-yield weapons that can penetrate deep underground in order to strike buried, hardened targets precisely the kind of underground bunkers where Iraqi president Saddam Hussein is accused of hiding his arsenal of weapons of mass destruction.

He drew a parallel between the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the terrorist attacks of Sept 11. He said the Pearl Harbor bombing thrust US into World War Two and led to the atomic bombing in Japan.

Nuclear conflict

He said it was not impossible to imagine a nuclear conflict arising from the Sept 11 attacks, with a war on Iraq as a possible trigger.

To support his argument, McCoy pointed out that nuclear weapons are now classified as conventional arms that are fair game in a war according to the latest US Nuclear Posture Review released in January.

The Review named China, Russia, Libya, Syria, Iran, North Korea and Iraq as possible targets of an American nuclear strike. McCoy said this was evidence that the Pentagon is drafting contingency plans for attacks on these countries.

He said the new US National Security Strategy released by President George W Bush on Sept 20 showed the US now favours pre-emptive military action as opposed to its traditional method of deterrence and containment.

The change shows the US considers the sovereignty of other states subordinate to its own national interests, which is in violation of the Treaty of Westphalia of 1648 that laid out the principles of sovereignty and legal equality of nations, he said.

This, coupled with America's disregard for the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty by developing new nuclear arms, raises the spectre of nuclear war in every war conducted by the US, he said.

World domination

"A war on Iraq will not be about weapons of mass destruction or a brutal tyrant or terrorism. It will be about hegemony and world domination.

"The war will be a coming out party for the most powerful nation in history, which is bent on establishing Pax Americana. In other words, an American Empire," he said.

Just president Dr Chandra Muzaffar also echoed McCoy's sentiments on American imperialism.

He said he had good reasons to call America an empire because it exhibited all the traits of one. It was expanding its military might aggressively with the establishment of more than 800 military bases worldwide.

It was also demanding political obedience from Iraq hence the need for a "regime change" and cultural and ideological dominance by spreading its idea of democracy and human rights.

He pointed out that the US government, or 'the Washington elite', used the idea of justice when it served their ends, noting that Saddam was at the height of his brutality during the Iran-Iraq war, when the US provided Saddam with military training and weapons.

"Saddam was gassing the Kurds then, why didn't the US talk about regime change then? It's because he served Washington interests," he said.

Oil control

He claimed that the US was also declaring war on Iraq for its oil. He said US wanted to control Iraq's vast reserves of oil second largest in the world especially in light of uncertainties with Saudi oil, given the county's connection with Osama bin Laden.

He asserted that a war on Iraq would benefit Bush by boosting his popularity among American voters in the coming congressional elections. He pointed to the huge financial scandals plaguing major corporations like Enron and Arthur Andersen as good reason for Bush to divert attention from the fundamental flaws in the American economy.

If the US continues on its imperial ambitions, we would see justice and compassion sidelined while rampant capitalism remains unchecked, with growing disparities in wealth, knowledge and power, he said.

"However, acts of terrorism and violence are not the way to fight an empire. It is important for Muslim intellectuals and clerics to come out and say this is not the way," he said.

He said strong regional initiatives like Asean, good governance in individual nations and belief in multi-lateral institutions like the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation could help resist an American empire.

The other member of the three-speaker panel that night was Mohd Abbas, an Iraqi associate member of Just living in Malaysia.

Genocide

Having lived in Iraq during the Gulf War and the resulting US-led sanctions, he denounced them as acts of genocide and the "worst form of mass destruction", with 6,500 children under five dying monthly after the sanctions began as opposed to 300 deaths previously.

He said the sanctions, which banned 'dual-use' items, which could conceivably be used for Iraq's military, victimised the Iraqi people but did little to dent Saddam's government.

"Morphine, generators, even pencils can be dual use. Almost everything was banned. This is genocide," he said.

Abbas insisted that the US had no right to institute a regime change, as this was the prerogative of the Iraqi people. However, when contacted by malaysiakini, he declined to make a stand on his support for Saddam's government.

He also called for a boycott of American products, beseeching about 60 people and Just members attending the forum to "stop providing these giants with money to convert to bullets".